The Experiment
by dragonnes
Summary: Hermione and Draco are paired together to simulate a real relationship as part of a school course. Forced into close proximity, they have to overcome their clashing personalities.
1. An Unexpected Commitment

The Golden Trio hurried into a large classroom, buzzing excitedly about a strange new course mandated by the school. They seated themselves at the front of the room.

Hermione was practically bouncing in her seat because there were rumors of it being the hardest class they would have to take. If nothing else, she prided herself on her willingness to seek out and master new challenges. To her right, Ron was just about falling asleep on his desk, having so little energy as if just to balance out his friend's enthusiasm. Harry patiently sat staring at the empty space in front of him, daydreaming of being on a broomstick, hundreds of feet high in the air.

The Slytherins, as usual, sat the very back, hoping that the professors would have a harder time noticing misbehavior in the back.

Professor McGonagall appeared through the giant looming doors. As she positioned herself at the front of the room, the entire room of sixth years fell silent.

"I'm glad to see no one is late today, as that would've been an unpleasant way to start the school year," she said, her voice stern as ever. She paced the width of the room, running her eyes over each and every single one of the students. "A recent study has shown that an alarming percentage of the wizards and witches are extremely displeased at their choice of lifelong partners. Depression among the population is at an all time high. It seems most of this is due to lack of proper communication and problem solving skills within a relationship. I'm sad to say that due to you all spending a majority of your teenage years away from your parents and here at Hogwarts, you have no direct role models or mentors to guide you."

Hermione sat up straighter. Every sentence out of her professor's mouth launched an array of questions. She bit her lip, knowing McGonagall would soon answer her unspoken thoughts.

The Transfiguration professor cleared her throat. "Therefore, Professor Dumbledore has deemed it necessary that we educate our students in this arena of the real world. Our new class, titled 'Life Lessons,' shall shape the skills you need to lead a somewhat stable life after you leave this school, so that you find a higher rate of success in your social relationships. We will do this by simulating a real relationship with a partner. Think of this as a year-long project."

The class sat, dumbstruck. Hermione couldn't contain it anymore. She burst out, "But Professor! How could this work? How would you grade us on something like this? What would homework in a class like this look like?"

Behind her, Draco rolled his eyes exaggeratedly. _So typical. Of course she's worried about the bloody homework assignments already._

The professor had a slight smile on her face. Her star student's interest warmed her heart, reminding her of herself as a girl. "Grading will be based on an analysis of your relationships, Ms. Granger. In this class, it's more about the effort put in than the results. Any sort of positive progress seen in your interactions with your partner will be considered good enough. There will be a concrete assignment once in a while, where your marks are based on completion."

Hermione sat back, satisfied with the assignment for the time being.

"Alright!" McGonagall exclaimed with a flourish of her wand. A student's name appeared on each desk. "Everyone get up!" Once they followed her orders, the desks arranged themselves in pairs. "Find the desk with your name on it. It will be your assigned seat next to your partner for the rest of the year."

Ron meandered his way around the room and plopped himself at his new desk. Leaning over to read the name of his partner, his face brightened. "Lavender!" he called out, grateful it was someone he knew. "We're paired up!"

Hermione saw the two smiling at each other and felt the tiniest twinge of jealousy. She shook her head and diverted her attention to the other side of the room, where she found Harry sitting next to Pansy Parkinson. She shot her friend a piteous look, feeling truly sorry for his predicament. Then she continued to wander the room, looking for her name. Realizing she was the only one standing, she scanned the room to see who was sitting alone. She froze and her mouth opened in horror as her eyes fell on a tall, blond Slytherin.

Draco. Malfoy.

Just her luck!

Dazed at the ludicrousness of her situation, she dragged herself over to her desk and dropped to her seat. Draco's expression mirrored her own. Both of them were wondering at the universe's cruel sense of irony. Out of all the possible partners each could get, the odds of them being paired together were _tiny_. Yet it happened.

The entire class stared the pair, waiting on edge for a quarrel to erupt. However, it seemed the two were too deep in shock to react immediately. They didn't even notice their classmates' worried looks.

McGonagall glanced at Hermione sympathetically. Alas, what was done was done. She couldn't change anything now. "You and your partner will, in the months to follow, share housing lodges. This may consist of adjoining rooms and some shared commodities. I suggest you build a friendship with your partner," her eyes lingered on Draco and Hermione for a second, "or, at the very least, a working acquaintanceship, for you will have to discuss, and under the right circumstances, experience themes of a mature nature. Sexual topics should not, at this age, cause you any discomfort."

Draco's face reddened. _That doesn't mean… It couldn't mean… he had to perform sexual activities with… with the Gryffindor._ His breath quickened. _No way. They wouldn't force us into anything like that as a part of school. That's pretty much illegal._ _Although I guess Granger isn't too bad to look at_. He stopped himself at the thought. That was too far.

Hermione's heartbeat drowned out all other noises. _I can't believe this. I can't believe this. The last thing I ever want to do is talk about anything remotely adult-themed with that little ferret. This is so unfair._

Seeing the flustered looks on the students' faces, McGonagall's eyes widened and she clarified, "No, you will not be engaging in any such behavior! To think!" She sighed exasperatedly. "Pick up the cards from the front desk on your way out. It describes your first challenge in detail. Be sure to record your thoughts and progress in a journal." She paused. "That's it for today. Class dismissed."


	2. The Encounter

Hermione restlessly flipped around on her bed. This would be the last night she'd be spending in her shared housing with the other sixth year girls. The next day, they would all be moving their things into their partner lodgings. She desperately willed herself to sleep, knowing she'd need the energy to deal with the prick. This thought process was very counterproductive, as her worries just served to stress her out more.

The truth was that she wasn't entirely sure how to feel about the situation. Obviously, she felt a little shocked, enraged, even indignant. But that was mixed in with excitement and nervousness. Despite the "good girl" image she portrayed to everyone around her, she had always inwardly fantasized about sneaking away with a guy, secretly hooking up behind one of the hundreds of closed doors at Hogwarts, doing something _wrong_ that no one else would expect of her. She wanted to experience the thrill of forbidden lovemaking. The Life Lessons class would have made it extremely easy to accomplish this.

If only she'd been paired with any other boy.

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Around seven o'clock the following evening, all of the sixth years headed towards their new rooms, looking to the little slips of parchment in their hands containing information about the location and password of their new quarters. Hermione gulped as she reached the portrait guarding her room. It contained a strikingly handsome man mounted upon a black horse. When he saw her, he smiled widely. "Hello, there! I'm Prince Edward the First. You must be Hermione Granger. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance. Do you have the password?"

Hermione squinted at her parchment. "Early owl, night bird."

"Wonderful, dear," the man in the painting said as the portrait swung open.

Inside she was met with a small common room consisting of a fireplace and a couch. A door stood ajar to her right. Entering it, she found a spacious bedroom with two beds pushed to opposite walls. Another door connected the bedroom to what she would imagine was the bathroom. It seemed like she was the first one there. The beds didn't look too dissimilar from the one she'd slept on for the previous five years. The only difference was that one was decorated with Gryffindor colors and the other with Slytherin.

 _Two beds. One room_. _That means… I have to share a room with… Malfoy. Wonderful._

She moved into the center of the room, dropping her things to the floor by the red and gold bed. She arranged her books on the night table and all other items in her trunk. Rubbing her eyes from exhaustion, she started to take off her school robes. Right after she had shed her outer layer and unbuttoned the top three buttons on her long sleeved white shirt, she turned around to glance at the window by the Slytherin themed bed. That's when she noticed the green sheets were slightly disheveled while hers were perfectly made.

 _Huh?_

As if on cue, Draco stepped out of the bathroom, wearing black boxers and a tightly fitted dark blue tee. Hermione let out a little scream and fell backwards onto her bed.

There was an entire minute of silence where neither of them moved an inch. This was the first time they had seen each other since class the day before. Hermione's heart was beating really fast from the scare. Draco's face reddened as his eyes fell upon her partially undone buttons, which revealed the tops of her breasts, heaving, barely covered by a lacy black bra. He gulped. The only places where he'd seen naked women before were in illustrations. This was the first time he'd come close to seeing uncovered breasts in the flesh. He felt blood rush to his nether.

His eyes widened, realizing he'd been staring at her too long. He finally broke the silence. "Dear lord, Granger! Cover yourself up! This is a shared space. You can't just fucking waltz around with your boobs hanging out."

Hermione had completely forgotten about her partially open shirt in front of her new roommate because all the girls in her old dorm had gotten so used to changing in front of each other. She quickly covered herself up, getting angry from the embarrassment. "Well, at least I'm wearing pants and not is what is essentially underwear, like you are!"

"These are long enough to basically be pants! Don't change the subject!"

"What?! I'm not changing the subject. I'm just pointing out the facts!"

"Ugh, Granger! I can't believe I have to deal with you." He grabbed some schoolwork and stormed toward the door to the common room. "I'm going to wait out there. Finish changing and come out so we can start our fucking assignment." He slammed the door shut behind him, leaving a fuming Hermione behind.


End file.
